—wild stuff!
In the simplest analysis, whatever is happening with memory can be
deconstructed into two major components: working memory (WM;
also called short-term memory) and long-term memory (LTM). Work-
ing memories tend to last from seconds to a few minutes (although
working memories can last indefinitely if you actively keep thinking
about them). WM has a limited capacity: we can hold only so many
items in WM at any time—for most people, generally fewer than ten.
One way to measure the capacity of WM is to ask someone to repeat
back a list of numbers or words immediately after hearing them.
Memories that have been retained in some more permanent man-
ner are stored in LTM. Information may get into LTM by a variety of
pathways. One way is by rehearsing items in WM. This is the process
by which people would memorize the digits of 1, for example. Lu Chao
says that it took him a year to memorize the digits of m that he later
recalled for his world-record recitation. Repetition assists in encoding
memories into LTM. If we repeatedly refer to the same telephone num-
ber or street address, we are more likely to recall it later. It is easier
to remember the names of people that we see or interact with more
frequently. Reviewing information encountered in a book or in class
lectures contributes to recalling it later.
Some kinds of information are more easily stored in LTM, things
that have significant meaning or emotional salience, for example. And
forming links with other information already known greatly contrib-
utes to the robustness of LTM storage. This is what “understanding” is
—appreciating new knowledge in relation to material already known.
Long-term memory involves information storage and retrieval.
Storage is believed to involve some sort of structural change in the